'A woodworking Disneyland': Meet the man behind synagogue ark-building

(JNS) - The sanctuary at Nusach Hari B'nai Zion in suburban St. Louis contains a majestic wooden-framed aron kodesh, or "holy ark," that holds the synagogue's Torah. Less visible is a tiny metal plaque that credits Kenny Bressler for creating the ark.

Bressler designed and built the ark by hand in a workshop that sits behind his house. That's where the ark magic happens. A master woodworker, he has become a specialist in synagogue arks.

"I've become the go-to ark guy," said the 70-year-old. "Now that I'm mostly retired, I'm not charging anything for them. I'm doing them strictly as a retiremen...